Businesswoman Mary Wambui’s preferred vehicle for State tenders has undergone several changes to its name, boardroom and shareholding amid its pursuit of nearly Sh20 billion worth of government contracts over the past two years.
Nightigale (E.A) Limited has since rebranded from Nightigale Enterprises Limited, even as Ms Wambui, once its majority shareholder, exited the company together with her daughter within two years of the tycoon joining public service.
Ms Wambui, an ally of President William Ruto, was co-opted into government after Kenya Kwanza won the August 2022 General Election.
The company went on to win public contracts worth at least Sh6.8 billion, even as it underwent a series of changes to its ownership and boardroom.
In some instances, it disclosed different shareholders for contracts awarded on the same day, according to the Public Procurement Information Portal (PPIP), the government’s official online public procurement database.
Today, Ms Wambui’s name no longer appears in the company’s registration documents. Court filings have, however, linked the businesswoman to the multibillion-shilling deals won by Nightigale, including a Sh4.9 billion affordable housing project.
Some activists have told the court that the frequent changes to the company’s ownership and boardroom were intended to conceal potential conflicts of interest. Ms Wambui has denied the allegations.
Filings at the Business Registration Service show that Edward Njenga Muniu owns 90 percent of the company, while Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui, a long-time associate of Ms Wambui, holds the remaining 10 percent stake.
Mr Muniu has little discernible digital footprint. In one of the company filings, he listed the postal address of Maasai Mara University as his correspondence address, raising further questions about his background.
It is not only Nightigale’s filings at the Registrar of Companies that tell an intriguing story about the firm.
Its disclosures on directors and beneficial owners to procuring entities, as required under procurement laws, paint an equally interesting picture.
Data from the PPIP shows that on January 10, 2024, for instance, Nightigale was awarded two separate tenders on the same day, yet disclosed different shareholding structures in each.
In the first, a Sh1.32 billion contract awarded by the Athi Water Works Development Agency for the construction of the Kandara Water Supply Project, the company listed Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui as its sole shareholder, according to records on the Public Procurement Information Portal.
On the same day, the company was awarded another tender to supply copper winding wire to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC). This time, procurement records showed Ms Kinyanjui holding 90 percent of the shares, while Thomas Muya Njau held the remaining 10 percent, raising questions about when the changes in ownership took place.
The latest major contract awarded to the company, according to the procurement portal, is the Sh4.8 billion affordable housing project in Nairobi’s Mathare Constituency.
The contract, awarded by the State Department for Housing on November 25, 2024, listed Mr Muniu as the company’s sole shareholder.
Company records now indicate that Mr Muniu has since ceded a 10 percent stake to Ms Kinyanjui.
Earlier, on July 10, 2023, when Nightigale won a Sh500 million contract from the Kirinyaga County Government to construct County Aggregation and Industrial Parks, procurement records listed Mr Njau as the company’s sole shareholder.
The company later found itself at the centre of controversy after securing two multibillion-shilling framework contracts under the ICT Authority’s Digital Superhighway programme while Ms Wambui was serving as chairperson of the Communications Authority of Kenya.
Procurement records at the time listed Ms Kinyanjui as Nightigale’s sole shareholder.
However, that did not stop the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), in court filings, from alleging a conflict of interest and claiming that Ms Wambui was the company’s ultimate beneficial owner.
Ms Wambui has denied the allegations, while the Communications Authority has also rejected claims that there was a conflict of interest.
Cofek argued that as part of the requirement of the tenders, public employees and their close relatives, including spouses, children, brothers, sisters and uncles and aunts, were not eligible to participate.
The Digital Superhighway project is being implemented in two phases, with the first allocated Sh5 billion and a further Sh10 billion from the Universal Service Fund earmarked for the second phase.
Nightigale (E.A) Limited’s corporate history stretches back to March 30, 2012, when it was incorporated as Nightigale Enterprises Limited, about a year before the Jubilee administration came to power.
The company was initially owned by Peter Njoroge Muchoku and Grace Wanjiku Muchoku, who held 700 and 100 ordinary shares, respectively.
The shareholding and directorship changed several times over the next decade.
In 2014, Evelyn Nyambura Mungai, Mary Wambui’s daughter, joined the company as a director and shareholder alongside Ephantus Githui Gathieka. Ms Mungai exited in 2018.
In 2019, Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui became a director and shareholder after the exit of Mr Muchoku, while Samuel Maina Kariuki replaced Mr Gathieka later that year.
Mary Wambui first appeared in the company’s records on April 9, 2020, when she acquired 600 shares from Mr Kariuki and Ms Kinyanjui. She was appointed a director the following month.
Following the 2022 General Election, Ms Wambui’s daughter returned to the company as a director and shareholder after acquiring Mr Kariuki’s remaining shares.
Within a week, President William Ruto appointed Mary Wambui chairperson of the Communications Authority of Kenya. Three days later, she resigned from Nightigale’s board and transferred her 500 shares to her daughter.
In May 2023, the company changed its name to Nightigale (E.A) Limited. A month later, just before the company signed one of its Digital Superhighway contracts, Evelyn Nyambura resigned as a director and transferred her shares to Ruth Waithira Kinyanjui, effectively ending the Wambui family’s direct shareholding in the company.
Ms Wambui has long been among Kenya’s best-known businesswomen, having risen from modest beginnings to become a major government contractor, politician and influential figure in public life.
In 1996, she opened Purma Holdings Limited, a clearing and forwarding company, which gave her a start in public procurement.
Her appointment as chairperson of the Communications Authority placed her at the centre of Kenya’s digital transformation agenda while simultaneously attracting scrutiny over companies historically associated with her.
As she rose the ranks, she would later enter the world of aircraft, having registered Albatross Aviation, based at Wilson Airport.
As she established herself as a ‘tenderpreneur,’ it was reported that she earned billions of shillings supplying boots, uniform and cereals to the military and other State departments.
She was also reported to have earned multi-million-shilling deals with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa), including supplies linked to Covid-19 kits.
Purma Holdings, Charma Holdings, Enterprise Supplies and Evertec General Trading Company, all associated with Ms Wambui, were awarded contracts worth Sh6.85 billion for the supply of rice, beans and edible oils in 2022 and 2023 under the controversial import scheme that saw the former CEO of Kenya Trading Corporation fired.
In recent years, she has also faced financial pressure following litigation involving Glee Hotel, a property associated with her family interests.
The evolution of Nightigale—from its ownership changes to its role in major government projects—continues to attract public interest as court proceedings over the Digital Superhighway contracts continue.
Before becoming President, William Ruto frequently accused the previous administration of using agencies such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to target his political allies.
At the time, Mary Wambui was facing tax-related cases, prompting speculation that she was among the allies he was referring to. Antony Mwaura, who also faced legal challenges, was another figure widely associated with the claims.
Following President Ruto’s election in September 2022, several of the cases involving his allies were withdrawn or otherwise came to an end.
Ms Wambui was subsequently appointed the chairperson of the Communications Authority of Kenya, while Mr Mwaura was named chairperson of KRA, appointments that some observers viewed as recognition of their loyalty.
More recently, Ms Wambui has returned to the headlines following the takeover of Glee Hotel, a property associated with her, by Equity Bank amid a debt dispute. She has also sued Google seeking the removal of links to reports relating to past tax cases.
